Tuesday, July 29, 2014

I still haven’t gotten a new battery for the bike computer on my road
bike.(Which reminds me, I need to see
if I can fix the one on my tri bike, it kind of…came apart…)I keep forgetting…which means I don’t
actually know my speed or anything, real-time.Lately, this has been a “good” thing, since I know it’s more important
to do what my body is happy with, rather than get frustrated and risk hurting
myself more by trying to go faster.

Of course, yesterday I was feeling pretty good.In fact, I felt pretty great for almost the
whole time.My neck wasn’t really
bothering me too much, and my legs were finally feeling like they had some life
to them.Allen and I decided to do the 520
trail, which was a nice change of scenery (and I got to take him on it for the
first time hehe).I also hadn’t done that
hill in almost a year, and I honestly felt great.Granted, it’s been so long I can’t exactly
remember how it felt the last time I did it, but I was going along thing “gee, I’m sure
this is way faster than the last time I did it!That’s good, at least I’m stronger than I was last year!”

Yeah yeah yeah, famous last words.According to strava, it was a 3rd best time.Ugh.Not like I was pushing it, but..blehhh.Kind of disappointing, after convincing myself I had probably shaved at least a minute off of my last fastest time, that's how good I felt....Oh
well.I know it’s not a big deal.But still.:-P

Overall though, it was a good ride.Even if I’m still a slowpoke, I guess it should just be humbling ;) And
at least I felt a lot better.Bright
side!

Then I swam this morning.I hate
swimming.I hate not knowing how I’m
doing, whether it’s form or speed or what.I just feel like I’m splashing along in the water like a cat.I don’t know, it’s just hard to tell what
benefit there is when I feel lost in the water no matter what.

In skin news, this sunburn sucks.It’s like flakey scabby grossness, on top of already discolored, unhappy
new skin.On the one hand, I know that
scars are not the end of the world, and it’s not like I’m vain enough to
actually really care or think anyone
else will care either… but it’s still kinda disconcerting to think that I could
have giant, splotchy patches of scarred skin all over my shoulder/back…:(Only time will tell, and it’s too late to do anything about it now so I’m
trying to not think about it too much.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Yes, swimming.Yuck, but also
yay!I was happy to get back to the pool
today, because it meant my routine was getting back to “normal.”Even went to the lake yesterday, and as much
as it sucked to carefully pull on the wetsuit…it was “good” to be out there
again. I was happy to notice that I didn't deteriorate quite as badly as I had feared, and I kind of felt like I remembered what to do! I was so worried. I'm still the slowest swimmer on the planet (I guess when you're that slow, it's hard to slow down even more), but it could have been worse.

The skin is healing very well—I was just a dummy, and managed to
sunburn my new skin!My shoulder is now
bright red.Aside from the fact that now
I’ll probably be all scarred for a while, it just plain hurts!Swimming hurt, just because I could feel the
poor skin breaking every time I took a stroke.Oh well, not much I can do about that (other than obsessively slather
every ointment known to man on it).

I also got to bike and run this weekend—both “short” considering they
were “long” days, but honestly it was fine.I am feeling much better on the bike, and a little better running.My biggest problem on the bike is going to be
mental, I know.Every slight decline is
terrifying.Oh well.I am also working on getting a chiropractor
scheduled this week (need to call again), since my neck still hurts and keeps
making weird popping noises.That plus a
massage will hopefully sort out my back, so that I can really get back to
running better.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Going for a ride last night was good.Being with friends was good.Overall though, it was NOT a particularly enjoyable ride.

I mean, it was ok.I was alright
for a while.But as soon as there was a
slight downhill, I had to coast down (no fast descents for this girl yet, every bump was terrifying enough), which means I was way behind—and I just
didn’t have it in me to catch up.Plus,
my shoulders and neck started aching by the end and while it wasn’t exactly a
lot of pain, it was enough that I was overall uncomfortable and not willing to
push anything at all. Which is fine, I know, just exceedingly frustrating to get dropped wayyyy off the back, regardless of the circumstances.

Plus, now my back hurts more today.I need a massage.But I need more
skin on my back, first.It’s way too raw
and delicate right now. Whine, whine, whine.

On top of that, I just looked at the calendar—nationals is in 17
days.That’s really soon.I still can’t get in the pool (much less a
wetsuit and lake), and I desperately need all the swim practice I can get.So not only am I missing out on 2 weeks worth
of improvement (assuming I can swim again next week), but I am positive I’m
going backwards, and will just have to see how terribly slow I am once I can
start.

Running and biking is also terribly slow, although I am really hoping
that as soon as my back stops hurting, I can bounce back.But then the question is—when will my back be
better?I am quickly running out of
time. It's not like I will miraculously go back to how I was, overnight.

I never thought I would do particularly well in Milwaukee,
but I would have liked to actually race to the best of my ability and feel
strong...not to the best of my ability in a painful, just-starting-to-move-again
state.How worth it is it to spend all the
time and money to go, if it’ll suck?Ugh.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

So I ended up running yesterday, instead of biking.Since my workouts are already a little “off”
without the swimming, I figured I may as well swap running and biking days this
week.Allen wanted to go to REI for
mountain bike shoes/pedals (yayyy, finally converting him!), and running takes
less time.

My back is pretty angry at me for running.As soon as I started, the lower/side muscles
started screaming.I figured they just needed
to loosen up… yeah, I think they loosened up about 50 minutes in to my 60
minute run...and even then, they were not too happy.

On the plus side, my legs and heart were soo happy to be running!I could feel my legs working, going up a
hill, and it felt so amazing to be using them again.

A nice lady ran past me, smiling, wearing a “Run Happy” shirt.I glared.I was definitely NOT running happy.But I kept reminding myself how happy I am to be alive, and that some
back pain meant that I was feeling something
which is a lot better than…the alternative.So that helped.I was
ridiculously slow, really limited by how much impact my back could take (I
tried speeding up and it just hurt more, so didn’t push it) but I focused on
moving, rather than caring about my speed.As long as things keep getting better, I’m happy.

18 days until Milwaukee, and counting.I am stressing myself out thinking about it.I need
to swim!!!

Monday, July 21, 2014

A whole lot
of healing has taken place in the last few days!I went to bed Friday night and woke up
Saturday morning with a ton of new skin :) So that was great.

Saturday, I
went for a short run.I stayed in my
neighborhood, since I wanted to stay close to the house just in case I needed
to stop unexpectedly, and I really had no expectations.I just wanted to run.It was super slow (start around 9:00 and
ended closer to 9:30)..but at least it was running.For the most part.The good news is that the road rash didn’t
bother me; I could feel it a little, but it really wasn’t an issue.The problem was my back!I don’t know if it’s a delayed onset, or if I
really didn’t notice it at all because I was too distracted with my lack of
skin, but man..my back/neck/shoulders all hurt like crazy.Running didn’t help, my lower back kept
seizing up, so I just tried to keep it easy and natural.

Still,
though, 30 minutes running outside was great for me, mentally!I also got on the trainer for a few minutes,
just to see how it felt—I wasn’t sure if the position would hurt my back, or if
the road rash on my leg would be aggravated by pedaling.I was happy to find that, at least for a few
minutes, nothing stood out and things seemed to feel pretty good.

The other
awesome part about Saturday was...new (bike) shoes!My shoes were not only super scuffed up from the
crash, but the left clip got complete smashed in, so it actually isn’t
functional anymore.I had to wiggle and
squeeze my foot out of my shoe after I crashed, and there was no way I could use
that shoe any more.I had already been
planning on getting some tri shoes, but now I needed new shoes ASAP!I was looking around, and luckily Kyle found
a pair of shoes that were exactly my size!:)Talk about perfect (I mean,
all things considered).So, I was able
to get some really awesome shoes right away and not deal with ordering them,
etc.Sooo lucky.

Naturally, on
Sunday, I had to go out and test the shoes!I also just wanted to be on a bike.I got Megan and Allen to go with me, and to keep it nice and easy…things
seemed fine for a few minutes on the trainer, but I wasn’t sure how it would be
for an actual ride.We stayed on the trail
(even though I really, really wanted to keep going once I started), and tried
to keep an easy, high cadence.I did
push and get a couple hard efforts in for a minute or two at my favorite spot,
which felt great.Overall, the road rash
is fine!Itchy, but didn’t really affect
the biking.My back was sore, but as
long as I was just taking it easy, it’s fine.I did get out of the saddle a couple of times and tried to kick it up,
and that’s when I really noticed my back (couldn’t accelerate too well) but
that’s fine.My legs were stiff and
sore, and not exactly in top form, but I can live with that.Mostly, I’m happy because I think I can at
least try to return to my normal training schedule this week (minus the swims
for a couple more days).I know I won’t
be fast (especially running) and I won’t push it, but I will at least feel
better getting some time and miles in.

And just to
be clear: the shoes are amazing.I am
100% in love with them!They are
ridiculously light compared to my old shimanos, which was obvious as soon as I
was carrying both of them to swap the cleats.Even with the cleats on, they are lighter than the old shoes (without
cleats).I hadn’t really thought about
how that would feel on the bike, but as soon as I clipped in and pedaled—wow,
my feet were light as air!What a huge
difference.I had no idea.And they are so stiff, and comfortable, and
and and…I love them.:)

Friday, July 18, 2014

I’m getting
antsy!All the road rash is healing up
nicely, and it’s crazy to see the new skin growing in!I’m still covered in tegaderm, but at least I’m
not leaking anymore ;)

For the most
part, I have entered the itchy phase, I think.Driving..me..crazy..

Unfortunately,
I still have some areas that are painful, and just walking does hurt.I can’t really imagine pedaling, or running
just yet, which is frustrating because the rest of my body feels relatively “fine”
enough to at least start doing some light exercise.But the painful spots are actually painful
and I don’t think it’s worth it.I had
really hoped I would be back to normal (and even swimming) on Monday, but I’m
not so sure that will happen now.Maybe
if I’m lucky I can do some light spinning.Or slow jogging.For a short
time.:-\

Looking at my
training schedule is actually depressing.A whole week of NOTHING, when I should be getting some good distance
in.I know my bike and run is ok, I mean…I
won’t be improving and I won’t be getting faster but at least I know I can do
the distance.But taking the time off of
swimming is not good.:(As much as I dislike swimming, I know I need
to keep at it if I want to improve..and that it is the one area where I really
NEED to improve.A lot.So not only am I losing time to improve, I’m
losing time to maintain at all.

Do I even
want to go to Nationals if I’m going to be so slow in the water?Not that I think I’ll be fast by in any
means, in any leg, but at least the bike and run should be decent enough that I
won’t look too stupid.But at this rate,
I’ll be the last out of the water.

It’s probably
too early to be worrying about this.I
need to heal first.Hmph.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Sunday morning, the day after the crash. Gross! This isn't even all of it, just some of the worst parts...

Well, last
weekend was sure..eventful.

I had a 60
mile training ride on the schedule.Got
going in the morning, looking forward to finishing up and spending the rest of
the day in Redmond watching Crit racing at Derby Days and Juniors/Masters State
Championship Track racing.

I’ll be honest,
it was a great ride.I had some guy give
me some great encouragement on East Lake Sammamish (telling me I “hold my speed
really well” and that it took him a long time to catch me, etc).Some good climbs, not too worried about
pushing it but feeling strong.30 miles
in, I turned around at the top of Duthie Hill Road, and figured that there was
more space for a break at the bottom of the hill.“I’ll just go down the hill and then text
Allen I’m halfway, have a gu, and head home.”

So I sped
downhill.The bike lane is pretty
non-existent on the way down, but the curves and speed of the road make it natural
to ride in the road anyway.I was
looking far ahead, planning my line around the bends in the road, and feeling
good.I remember seeing one sign that
said “Welcome to King County” and thinking “oh, I didn’t realize there was a
county line here.Weird.”

I noticed another
sign said the speed limit was 35mph, so I looked down and saw my speed was in
the 35-40mph range.“Good,” I
thought.“It’s fine that I’m in the road
because I’m going the speed limit anyway, so I won’t be in the way of any cars.” In fact, I made sure to keep my speed up, so that I wouldn't hold anyone up; even shifted up and put it in the big gear for the first time ever going downhill, so that I could pedal and keep my speed up there. Lalala, not a care in the world.I was a little thirsty, so made a mental note to be sure to drink plenty of water at
the bottom of the hill.

Remember how
I was looking far ahead?Yeah, that
means that when there’s cracks in the road that run perpendicular to your path,
you really can’t see them.I sure felt
it, though.A sudden, jamming bump (I
thought I hit a pothole), and I felt my rear wheel kick up.That bike is super stiff, and I definitely
felt the shock ricocheting though the frame.I skidded sideways on my front tire, thinking I could save it and be
fine, but no—the rear wheel eventually flipped up, and I went flying over and
around and slid to a stop.

Mid-slide, I
had a flashback to mountain biking.I
was sliding down the road, I could feel my skin scraping off, and all I could
think of was that this is a lot more like mountain biking.I could see the trails in my mind, and felt like
I was on the Kona.Except on the mountain
bike, the dirt feels a lot softer, and you can roll down a hill.This time, I was sliding down pavement,
wearing nothing but a tri top.

I came to a stop.I tried to figure out what was
happening.Did I really just crash on the road?! Seriously?! No.... There was a car behind me (I
am so, SO thankful that the driver was giving me ample space on the descent AND
that he was alert and able to stop behind me in time), and the driver came running
out.He was obviously horrified, and
really worried about me.I realized my
right foot was still clipped in (I was laying on my left, with my bike still
between my legs), so I got unclipped and managed to stand up.The driver helped gather my bike, all while
asking if I was ok, and if I needed an ambulance.

Adrenaline
rushing, I had no idea what had happened or how I felt.I knew I was beaten up and out of breath, and
noticed my elbow was bleeding. "Must have
gotten my elbow scraped up, oh well" I thought.I leaned up against
the barrier on the side of the road, and insisted (repeatedly) thatI just needed to take a break and catch my breath.

There were
passengers in the car, and they were out by then, also trying to help make sure
I was ok.Many offers to call 911, but I
kept saying no, I’m ok, I just need to catch my breath.I think I told one lady to “please, just wait
a minute before you call, I think I’m ok.”
I know they were concerned and wanted to help, but at that moment, I needed to just take a minute to collect myself and not think about anything else or ambulances or anything. I needed to get myself figured out.

Just a couple
minutes after I fell, a police car was driving up the hill the other
direction.The driver of the car flagged
down the officer, who obviously stopped and asked what had happened.She took over, and let the other guy go, as
well as directed traffic since I was starting to cause a back-up.

Meanwhile, I
tried to collect myself.I found my
waterbottle and saddlebag, as well as my speed sensor that had come off my
wheel.I did a lot focusing on breathing, since I
felt so out of breath.Once traffic was
flowing, the officer came to check on me, and said she was calling an aid car
whether I wanted it or not.

I knew I
needed to contact Allen, but didn’t really know what to say.I texted him to call me, and left a message
with him, briefly explaining I had crashed, and that I was banged up but OK,
and told him to call me.

The aid car
came, and they loaded me up and moved just a bit further down the road so that
we weren’t blocking any more traffic.A
couple more police cars showed up, along with the firetruck that always
accompanies the aid car; I think I talked about being embarrassed that I was causing such a big scene, with so many cars and trucks and flashing lights everywhere; I mean, I was just a little biker who had a small tumble, no need for all this!The firemen
gathered my bike and I think even loaded it into their truck, assuring me they
could take the bike to their station to keep it safe if I wanted.Overall, I had a lot of people coming in to
tell me my bike was looking ok, aside from a rear flat. :)I was happy they understood that that was the
important thing I was most concerned about, since I myself felt relatively ok and just sore.

The medics
looked me over, checking my spine, neck, pelvis, ribs, feet, collarbone (I told
them I knew what that felt like, and that it wasn’t broken), lungs, head, and everything
else.They took my pulse and measured
the O2 in my bloodstream… “98% and 62bpm…yup, you’re a cyclist!”

After
checking for a concussion (I did hit my head, but my helmet definitely did its
job!), they wrapped up my arm which was still bleeding a ton.Unfortunately, the other major areas didn’t
lend themselves to wrapping (shoulder/back and upper thigh), so they let them
be.They told me that they always err on
the side of caution, and that they would like to take me to the hospital just
in case, but that it was my choice.I
said no.I made sure there wasn’t
anything in particular they were concerned about and would have the hospital
check, but they said it would be just “in case” something started to go wrong; I
took my chances and figured it I started feeling terrible all of a sudden, I
would go to the hospital.

One of the police
said he would stay with me there, as Allen was on his way to come get me.He offered to take me to the station to wait,
but that was out in Fall City even further, and I had already told Allen where
I was and just wanted to keep things easy.So I was let out of the aid car, thanked everyone profusely for all
their help, and sat on the side of the road with my bike.

Plenty of
cyclists passed me, heading up the hill: some would turn and stare at me, since
I was bloodied up with ripped up clothes, and a police escort; some would very pointedly
ignore me and not look at me at all; one asked if I was ok.I kind of laughed, and said “yeah, I’m fine..”
and when he kept looking at me in disbelief, I added “just be carefully coming
down hill” he nodded solemnly, and kept going.

I sat and
waited.I stood and waited.Sitting down meant getting dead grass stuck
in my open wounds, but standing up meant my back muscles would seize up.Everything was starting to hurt, but from
what I could tell, it was just muscular soreness from coming to an abrupt stop
on pavement; nothing felt particularly out of place, or wrong, and the pain
wasn’t sharp or unusual.I did a few
look-overs of my bike, and was relieved that everyone seemed to have been telling
the truth: it would need further evaluation, but there was nothing glaringly
obvious. I was sure that the drivetrain would be mangled, but all that had happened was the chain came off (and one of the police or firemen had actually put it back on for me while I was in the aid car, how nice!) and otherwise, not even a scratch on the derailer. The entire cockpit was jammed
down, but that could be adjusted back into place; otherwise, there wasn’t a
scratch on the frame itself.

The carbon on
the front of the brakes was all scuffed up.Definitely not aesthetically pleasing, but at first glance, didn’t seem
to be too bad or affect function.The
only thing I could see was a slight spot on the front near the scuffed-up brake
levers, where it looked like there might be a crack in the carbon.Or maybe it was the clear overcoat that just
was cracked.Or maybe it was just
hairline crack that was nothing to worry about.Or maybe the entire right side was about so snap off and needed to be
replaced and oh gosh, stop looking, Rosanne!Not much to do about it now.

(I did take
another look at my bike last night; I brought the bars back up, and checked the
rest of the bike again—not even a scratch on the frame.Still worried about the potential crack, but
will have someone else take a look.I
tried putting some weight on it to see if I could feel any give, but it was
kind of hard to tell in my current state.The only other thing I found was that the rear wheel is all bent.Not sure if it can be trued, but in any case,
that likely contributed to the crash.I’m
guessing that the big bump ended up bending the wheel, which in turn caught the
brake and flipped me over.The tire
deflated along the way, so something definitely hit it hard. Alternatively, it got bend while flipping through the air and crashing to the ground...)

And that’s
the story.Now I’m here, bored, but also
beaten up and not able (or really wanting) to do much of anything.Seafair triathlon next weekend is off.This is really depressing, and I’m trying not
to think about it.Even Nationals is
questionable, but we’ll see how soon I can start swimming again—fingers are
crossed.I hate seeing each day go by,
and a big fat “zero” for my training that day.I need to get my bike fixed, get a new helmet, get new shoes (also destroyed),
and new shorts since my favorite pair are now ripped to shreds on the leg.I also need new skin, please.

The offending crack in the road. Fix this, King County!

The helmet that saved me. So thankful it did it's job!!

All jammed down; I have since re-aligned it and looks much happier :)

The most damage on the left side. I can thank the entire left side of my body for protecting the bike. Judging by me left leg, it certainly saved a lot.

Potentially the most worrisome, if this is truly a crack, and truly a problem.

Aside from the protential crack issue, this is the worst of the damage. Not pretty, but so far the brakes appear to work just fine.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Yesterday, I
got on my bike and—the computer was dead.Well, the screen was; I think it just needs a new battery?What I really need to do is just get a new
garmin..but whatever.Anyway, I finally
gave up trying to make it come to life, and had to ride without knowing my
speed or distance or anything (strava on the phone app in my back pocket doesn’t
help much real-time).I got used to it,
of course, but it was still aggravating!Turns out, I kept a pretty decent pace, so maybe I should intentionally
ride “blind” like that more often.If
nothing else, it’s a good confidence booster to know I “can” ride just fine
based on feel.

Swimming this
morning was…fine.As fine as it can be,
I guess.I just feel so clunky in the
water, especially right when I start.And then I start to feel like I get into a groove, and then I lose
it.It’s also hard to tell sometimes if
I’m actually going faster or I just feel like I am because I am working harder
due to terrible form; or if I’m actually swimming more efficiently, or I just
feel like I am because I have slowed way down and am hardly moving.I think I’ll try to get at least one more
lesson in before September, but hopefully before August.

It’s also frustrating
to not know how fast I “really” am.So
far, I’ve actually swam a lot faster in races than I am at the pool (or lake),
which is great!But, it also means that
I get pretty down on myself when I go to the pool and feel like I swam pretty
well, and it turns out I was way slower.Not like my timing mechanism is very accurate in the pool—just using the
stopwatch on my watch, and then there’s all the extra time to start/stop it,
and turn around at each end, etc etc etc…I guess it should just be a lesson in not focusing on that so much, and
focusing on the actually swimming and getting better.

In other news,
I got new shoes today!My old shoes were
starting to feel a little run down, and it was about time to get new ones
anyway.I’ll try to slowly break them in
and still use my others for a bit longer, but I want these new ones to be my
shoes for August and September. Most importantly, they are BRIGHT PINK!There’s also some blue, but I wish the blue
was a little brighter.Oh well.I definitely need to change the laces I
think, but we’ll see.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

A haiku:The pool was crowded todayI am slow and soreSwimming is really stupid----------------In other news, it looks like it'll be hot this afternoon. I'm looking forward to a good run, but the heat might make it less-than-fun...

--update--

Running was ridiculous. I can't decide if running in the heat is good (it builds character! Just do it!) or just plain dumb. I didn't push it, since I remember very clearly how I crashed and burned last time i tried to push it too fast in the heat..but still. Blehhhh. 65 minutes felt like forever, but I guess my 8:17 average wasn't too terrible, all things considered.

I need to get my running back. I feel so awkward running these days. :(

Monday, July 7, 2014

Long weekends
are great.I’d say they are also
exhausting, but I like that, so they are still great :)

Friday was a
rest day, but I went mountain biking instead.I guess it counts for the bike ride I didn’t do on Sunday.It was my favorite kind of day on the bike:
cross country and tough work, but also some time with the “fun” stuff,
including a new gap jump on HLC for the first time!!!Probably a lot more exciting than it should
be, but that’s ok.It’s so nice to be
getting my confidence back, and being able to attack new features like that (rather
than shying away, post-collarbone).

Tried to stay
relatively easy on Saturday.It was a
short long run (wait, what?) since it was still recovery week.I was NOT feeling well.I wanted to keep it easy, and not worry about
pace, but I was really, really dragging.Finally stopped at the halfway and found a bathroom and gave myself a
quick break (and mental pep-talk) and that helped some.I still kept it easy, except that I decided I
needed to really push it for one mile at the end.So, that was nice—still a nice, easy run, but
I did have 7:12 of running hard and pushing myself to go fast.

The other
exciting part of Saturday was—adopting a new cat!She is 2 years old but so tiny!She is also a polydactyl with way too many
toes, so her paws are huge…meaning she just looks like a kitten!We are still working on the adjustment (Xyla
is not amused) but she’s a real sweetheart and I’m really looking forward to
getting to know her better.

Sunday was
the Vashon Xterra.What an…experience.It kind of went like this:

- Swim: SO MANY JELLYFISH.So many.Huge jellyfish.Get away!Keep swimming, don’t think about the
jellyfish, just get through them and don’t freak out.Oh look, you passed someone.And he’s still behind you!No way!Ok, keep swimming, get through the giant marsh of jellyfish again..and
get out of the water!

- Bike:giant hill.Can’t even walk up
it, much less tote a giant bike.Find some
people, and either chase or lead them.Don’t slide out on the corners.Repeat.Why did I forget a water
bottle?Running does not sound fun,
dehydration is setting in…-Run: get to the end.Why are you running soooo slow??? This is absurd!Pass a few people anyway, feeling a lot
better towards the end.Gee, this is a
great bike trail, why are we running here instead of mountain biking?Look at that awesome little jump!

-Post-race: ALL THE GATORADE, ALL THE FOOD

I did
alright, I suppose.I’m happy with the
times, I’m just not sure how I feel about the mountain biking part.I like mountain biking as my fun, no
pressure, play on the trails kind of thing.This was making me think a lot more about who was around me, and going
faster, and also trying to save some legs for the run…Oh well, great experience and it was still a
lot of fun.And as much as those
jellyfish scared me, I know it was great experience to get in the water and do
it anyway.

Looking
forward to ramping training back up this week!I skipped my swim this morning, mostly because I swam yesterday and I
was exhausted…but now I’m glad, because my back is actually really sore.I guess I was swimming hard (for me, at
least).Back at it tomorrow!We also have family visiting this week
(Tuesday-Tuesday) sooo it will be interesting to see how things go.I am planning to keeping the same training
schedule, but it’ll still be kind of tough to fit in the socializing and the
training AND the sleeping…

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Ok, so I’m doing it. I’m starting this silly log. Except I can’t pretend that I think it’s too “silly” because clearly, I’m doing it on my own free will :)

Anyway, we’ll see how this goes. I am a writer who hates to write, if that makes sense. And by that I mean: I talk a lot and think and re-word things in my head; I analyze everything, and pay close attention to details; I “write” plenty in my own head, crafting the best sentences I can to clearly illustrate a point; but I very rarely actually write anything down.

Sometimes, though, it’s good to get things out. Now that I am officially “training” (more on that later), it follows that I spend a lot of time thinking about training. How do I feel? What’s my schedule like this week? How do I feel about that? What do I need to work on? How do I feel about what I need to work on? What do I need to stop obsessing about? How do I feel about thinking that I need to stop feeling like I need to think about how I feel? Calm the heck down, Rosanne!!! Keeping track like this is just an effort to get these things out of my head (and drafted for posterity, great). I will say that my writing is exactly how I think; I have a solid writing background (thanks, ICS!) but I ignore a lot of traditional rules for good writing, because that’s not how it sounds in my head. And I don’t care. (See what I did there? I started a sentence with a conjunction!! The horror.) Deal with it.

Plus, if I write this down somewhere, maybe I’ll stop annoying people with endless rambling about my super exciting run. “Good story, Rosanne. You ran and your knee hurt but then it felt better and now you are happy. Cool.” I know my friends are already sick of me, and it’ll only get worse. Whooops.

Moving on.

Like I said, I am “training.” I STILL cannot for the life of me think of myself as “in training” or as an “athlete,” although I am slowly starting to think that maybe I should. Maybe. In my mind, I’m just a girl who really likes to do stuff and keep moving, and be the best that I can be at something. I’m all about improvement, not just a stagnant mediocrity. I am also really stubborn. Luckily, I have fallen in love with this triathlon business, even though I am still 100% a rookie who has no idea what she is doing. But, hey, it gives me a chance to obsess about THREE different sports!

So here’s the deal: in the next 12 months, I have the following planned…

Wait, what? Yup. Finally doing it. I say “finally” because I feel like I’ve been thinking and planning and obsessing about it in my head for forever. We can just ignore the fact that I’m impatient and am probably just being reckless. Whatever.

Anyway, as you can see, this gives plenty of time for me to get totally in my head and focused on training. My main focus is on Black Diamond and building endurance for that, although Nationals is really on my mind, too—while I know that I am nowhere near fast enough to even come close to being competitive in it, I do know that I want to be as fast as I can just so that I don’t look totally stupid and out of place on the course. So I’m simultaneously trying to focus on speed and endurance. You know, a really smart thing to do because it’s not like that’s physically impossible, or anything ;)

With all that said: this week is a recovery week and as much as I am trying to enjoy it, I am bored out of my mind. Thank goodness for a holiday weekend which means I can spend lots of time “taking it easy” aka mountain biking. My logic is flawless.